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Nov. 28 – JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Armstrong County Chief Judge Kenneth G. Valasek is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday in the ongoing zoning dispute in Richland Township over a proposed asphalt plant.
A field trip to the wooded site where the planned asphalt plant will be built on Mine Road 37 near Eisenhower Boulevard is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a. m. Disputes in Cambria County Court, 200S. Center St. , Ebensburg, get attached right away.
Last August, the Richland Township Zoning Hearing Commission granted waivers that allowed Quaker Sales Corp. Build an asphalt production plant on a 109-acre property, which the company purchased in 2021.
Homeowners in the township, including those who live within two miles of the site, appealed the zoning board’s ruling to the Cambria County Court of Common Appeals.
Although Cambria County Chief Judge Timothy P. Creany, who was assigned to the case, recused himself in May due to a conflict. Valasek then accepted the deal.
An organization of 17 other people named as plaintiffs in the case includes three attorneys offering legal representation: Joseph Green, Michael Carbonara and state Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Richland Township.
The number one defendant in this case is the Richland Township Zoning Hearing Panel, represented through attorney Eric Hochfeld. In addition, Quaker Sales Corp. intervened on the Zoning Hearing Board. Attorney Denver Wharton represents Quaker Sales.
The mill structures would be built on six acres of a 109-acre wooded plot. One-third of that acreage would be cleared, as presented through Quaker Sales at past meetings of the Zoning Hearing Committee.
Common claimants’ considerations arise from seeing the plant, hearing about it, and the plant’s emissions.
The plaintiffs’ appeal also argues that the commission’s approval of an asphalt plant on Mine Road 37 “essentially amounts to rezoning a quiet business district and converting it into a production district property. “
If Valasek makes the decision after Wednesday’s argument to uphold or reverse the zoning hearing panel’s ruling, either party to the case has the right to appeal to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania within 30 days of the Valasek Court of Common Appeals’ ruling.